Growing Up Too Fast
by MissMaiamai
Summary: With such frequently absent parents, the children of the deeprealms were bound to escape. However, without the safety net they were raised within, the world taught them quickly how to survive. Kana was no exception. This chapter: "Kids on a Boat"


"Ahoy! Land ho! Praise Naga, we have found the shore!"

The voice was feminine and childlike. A ninja had settled himself on the port of the boat, tugging down the band which had covered his eyes. They were sleepy and told of his countless hours of attempted napping. It was either the stormy seas or Kana that kept him awake.

Kana. Now this girl was a handful. While technically older than him, her behavior made her seem more like a child from her abounding happiness to her unrivaled niavety. She was so naive, in fact, that Asugi had coersed her into becoming a thief, and she was damned good at it. Asugi had simply told her they were "borrowing" the stolen goods, wanting to sell them for more money than they were worth, and returning the money to the people. Everyone trusted her, and thanks to her good intentions, she felt no remorse swiping a few gemstones or an instrument.

And now, with nearly a few thousands in gold aboard, Asugi was perfectly content dealing with Kana's shenanigans. She would yell at every sea otter, whale, and salmon, asking them how their day was going, if their family was well. And the gulls, the albatross, that surrounded the boat and gawked at her from the water, she would throw rocks at. Whenever she had extra bait on board, she would throw large pieces, just to see how much the birds would fight for it. She kept herself entertained.

"Tally ho, good sir!" she exclaimed loudly. "Hey, Saizo?"

Asugi had never been a fan of his birth name, as it meant an association with a clan of ninjas and samurais. He went by the name "Asugi" most of the time, allowing for identity to go unnoticed in a world where he should have been a well-known leader. Under this alias, he stole, lied, and cheated.

"What do you want?"

Both Kana and Asugi had been raised in the deeprealms. Once released by his father, Asugi reentered the land in search of riches. Instead, he found Kana. She was a charming girl who had been trained in swordplay, and he took her with him to engage in the mercenary jobs he had waiting around. She became an excellent sellsword that worked for excellent pay-a pay which Asugi pocketed. He decided, after she had proven herself so well in that line of work, she would be a perfect candidate for a thief, one that was approachable and deceptive. Her wide, innocent eyes, small stature, and round features made her look childish, something that instantly earned her the trust of unsuspecting civilians. Even he had to admit, she was adorable.

"What is this place?" she asked him.

Lining the shore were massive sheets of slate and gravel, and beyond that, a town snuggled into the cracks. The sea was choppy here, but their vessel cut through the waves.

"I don't know," he muttered absently. "Some Nohrian town, not worth stopping by."

Sailing from the southern reaches of Hoshido, the pair had entered Nohr not far back. The weather was much harsher here, but to Kana's excitement, the fishing was much better.

Kana always wore her hair up, tied into a messy bun with string. Her hair was fine and a russet brown color that had turned somewhat blond during the summer time. The strands that hung down from the collection on her head framed her cherry cheeks. But her eyes: they were the color of the algae, lively and dense. The color of tropical plants. Green and sharp, like devil's club.

Asugi, on the other hand, was fiercely red-headed, thanks to his father. That was about the only thing Asugi inherited, though, since he was devoid of all his father's other attributes. He liked to lay back and daydream, and pickpocketing was a favorite pastime.

Kana adjusted the sails toward the shore. Asugi buffeted, nearly thrown off the side of the boat.

"Kana!" he complained. "What are you doing?"

"There's a town here! I want to eat something that's not fish for once _. I_ think _it is_ worth stopping by! And what do you know, we might find some valuables!"

Asugi sighed, "Doubtable."

The boat slowly grew closer to shore, pushed along by the wind. Raindrops sprinkled on the grey water, and Kana's face had acquired a sheen of it. A droplet fell off the top of her nose as she leaned over the side, trying to get a closer look at the town.

 _SSSSKKKKRRRR_ -

"Uh oh," Kana mouthed, eyes meeting Asugi's in an instant.

"Kana," Asugi warned threateningly, now sitting up and alert.

And then the boat started tilting.

"KANA!"

Filled with nervous and aghast laughter at the sudden event, Kana ripped open the htch down below deck. Originally where they had kept their treasure, the chamber sloshed with rushing water.

"SAIZO! I can't-"

The deck submerged on one side, the starboard tilt enough to knock Kana into the sea. She tried to hold onto the door, but ended up snapping it off with her in her efforts to stay upright. Asugi hung onto what little had stayed out of the water, only the tip of the port-side, where he had been sitting. In the commotion, he was now drenched.

"I can't swim! I can't!" Kana screeched, treading water after her head hit the surface.

"Yes, you can, you idiot," Asugi called. "Get up here."

The water was icy cold. Well, not icy, but cold enough that the pair from the warm weather of Hoshido felt like it was. Kana shivered as Asugi hoisted her out of the water, where she sat next to him, her feet in the water.

"Oh gods, Saizo, it's cold!"

"Who's fault is that? You wrecked my boat!"

"Your boat! This is that old man's boat from Port Shariguru!"

Kana had a keen sense to remember where they acquired everything they had stolen, since she believed so fiercely that its value was going to be returned.

"Kana…" he pouted.

If only that had been the end of it. Neither of them had been watching the waves, fixated on the boat's damage and their sodden clothes. It was not unusual for a rogue wave to appear on the choppy water, but they were few and far between. This wave, five meters in height, had absolutely poised timing to knock them from their respite.

Kana was shaking out her shoes when Asugi cursed. She only had enough time to look up before the wave consumed them. Wood creaked and broke, and their bodies spun about violently in the water. Kana was the better swimmer of the two, and she surfaced almost immediately. She had gone limp in the water and naturally discerned the direction of gravity. Asugi took longer, thrashing and panting as his head popped out from the waves. Kana pointed for the shore and gave a few hard kicks in that direction. Luckingly for them, the tide was coming in, and their efforts were aided by the flow of water.

Kana clawed the sand, raking through with her fingers as she climbed the beach. She groaned and screamed. Her body was warmed from swimming and hardly exhausted, so her theatrics were mostly for her amusement rather than actual suffering. Asugi, though, had never been accustomed to life on the water. He did not even like the ocean; he liked a swift escape route. His preference was to stay dry.

Kana jumped to her feet, hair mangled and face red. She had lost the shoe she had been toying with, and her clothes were wet and stuck to her body. She had a thick coating of sand matting her clothes. While did give her somewhat of the feminine frame Asugi never knew she had, it also made her look like a disheveled kid.

"How are we supposed to repay the people we took from? Asugi, we're as good as thieves!"

"We are thieves!" he snapped back.

"I know, it's terrible!"

Kana, upset yet hopeful, took her hair and wrung it out into the sand. Asugi sat in dispair, staring at the boat poking out of the sea. As he watched, its structure collapsed, and it sunk beneath the waves.

"Hey, it's okay, Saizo, we can get more!" Kana exclaimed. "We can get jobs!"

That was NOT okay.


End file.
